Prospecting is the P word of sales. Some reps love it, most reps avoid it, and every sales leader I talk to says their team does not do enough of it. My goal in this episode of the Conquer Local podcast is simple. I want to remove the stigma around prospecting and give you a practical framework you can use this week.
Sales is not a negative word. Prospecting is not a negative word. If you are in customer success, account management, or any role that touches revenue, this applies to you too. Stop telling prospects you are not trying to sell them anything. They know why you are there.
The Myths That Keep Sellers Stuck
I hear the same excuses every year, and they are all wrong:
- “I only sell to my friends, so I do not need an agenda or a proposal.”
- “I am an account manager, so business just falls out of the sky.”
- “I have been doing this for years. I do not need to prospect anymore.”
Here is the truth. There is always someone trying to eat your lunch. The minute you back off of consistent outreach, a competitor steps into the conversation your customer is having with themselves about the future.
Situational Surveillance Wins Deals
Years ago I learned a phrase that has stuck with me: situational surveillance. It means knowing the industry of your prospect so well that you can speak their language when you walk through the door. If you are prospecting veterinarians, subscribe to a veterinarian association blog. If you are prospecting HVAC operators, read their trade press. That is how you stop sounding like every other sales rep and start sounding like a partner.
That practice pairs nicely with what I cover in my piece with Nick Kane on situational fluency and objection handling. Fluency in the buyer’s world is the skill that separates pros from rookies.
Apply Heat From Every Death Star
I use a picture from the International Space Station that shows every satellite orbiting Earth. Each satellite is another vendor trying to take your prospect’s budget. Your job is to apply heat from enough angles that you rise above the noise. Not so much that you blow them up, but enough to be remembered.
The Death Stars I use to apply heat:
- LinkedIn engagement and direct messages
- Email cadences with relevant, top of funnel content
- The phone, yes the phone, because voicemail and live calls still cut through
- Commenting and liking their content so they see your name
- Leaving a genuine review if you are already a customer
Respect the Buyer’s Journey
Your prospect is embarking on a buyer’s journey, and if you deliver the wrong message at the wrong stage, you burn the relationship. I use the example of buying a cabin at the lake. If my wife is a blocker because she does not want another house to maintain, it is my job to surface data about land as an investment long before I ask her to sign a mortgage.
That is what prospecting looks like when it is done well. You are surfacing the right insight at the right moment in their decision making, not racing them to a close they are not ready for.
Keep Working the List, Especially When You Are Winning
I warn sales leaders about reps who have a massive month. They stop doing top of funnel work because they feel like everything they touch turns to gold. Then their pipeline dries up two months later, and they cannot figure out why.
This is why I always tell sales leaders that sales is a science, not a guessing game. You need a predictable engine that keeps producing, even when your reps are celebrating.
Two Thirds Listening, One Third Talking
I am a Zig Ziglar fan. He once said that for every deal you lose because you are too enthusiastic, you lose 50 because you are not enthusiastic enough. Enthusiasm is not the problem. The problem is not seeking to understand before pitching. Two thirds of the conversation belongs to the prospect. One third belongs to you, and that one third should be focused on solving their specific problem with data and proof.
The Hunted Become the Hunter
Account managers, I know you want to call yourself a farmer. But the best farmers still hunt. They look around corners, watch for changes in their customer’s world, and chase the next opportunity inside and outside their book of business. Prospecting is a mindset, not a job title.
If you want another angle on how the role of the seller is shifting, read my take on the future of B2B sales and how sellers win in 2026.
So what is your prospecting playbook this quarter? If you do not have one written down, that is your action item from this episode.